Archives for September 2008

The ColumbusCitySchool District had approximately 9,220 students living within its boundaries attend a charter school during the 2007-2008 school year. Students living within the district’s boundaries attended a total of 67 competing charter schools, including statewide “virtual” charter schools. Over two-thirds of the students and state funding that should have gone to Columbus City Schools actually went to charter schools that were designated by the Ohio Department of Education as having a “D” or “F” rating.

Click on the jump below to learn more about how Columbus students– and the state money that followed them—were taught and spent in local charter schools in the 2007-2008 school year.

Nine Columbus teachers received devastating notices from the Administration on September 25: Their services to the district’s children would no longer be needed. The district’s immediate suspension of their contracts, their health, vision and dental insurance benefits will terminate in November for the teachers, their spouses and their children. One of the laid off teachers had 13 years of service to the district.

“The administration knew there were no positions for these 9 teachers in the spring,” declared CEA President Rhonda Johnson, “and based on the reduction of the unified arts program at the middle school level, the administration should have issued layoff notices last spring. There is never a good time to be laid off, but the administration’s failure to act in a timely manner took away teachers’ options to find positions in other school districts.”

“I was told by the administration that they were ‘close’ to estimating the number of teachers they needed,” continued Johnson. “Close is not good enough when you’re dealing with people’s livelihood. Staffing should be exact, not close.”

“The Columbus City Schools face a financial crisis if Issue 75 does not pass. More layoffs are a reality. We must do everything necessary to support this levy.” added Johnson. “It is vital for our students, our schools, our community and our future.”

A meeting will be held by the Administration on Oct. 1 to review the terms of the layoff and to discuss recall options. CEA consultants will be on hand to represent the affected teachers and to negotiate other employment opportunities. The administration has pledged to work with the Association to prevent this type of situation from occurring in the future.

Charter schools often claim to be better than traditional public schools. But the recent release of ODE report cards proves otherwise.

For example, a larger percentage of schools in the “Big 8” urban districts made Adequate Yearly Progress than the charter schools operating in those areas. Statewide, nearly twice as many charter schools were rated in “Academic Emergency” than were traditional public schools.